Apple iPad = iFail ?

I have a love hate relationship with Apple. They have a history of making amazing technology, but with that, a consistent retardation of features to insure future model marketability. This plan is smart but extremely annoying. The iPod and iTunes combo - brilliant. iPhone = revolutionary for the mobile phone market. iPad? Who needs it?

With a base price of $500, the iPad is a whole lot cheaper than many speculated it to be; however, can it really compete with all the $200 netbooks? Let's compare the features:

Feature Generic Netbook iPad

Built in keyboard Yes No ($69)

Webcam Yes No

Touchscreen No Yes

Read Ebook PDFs Yes Yes

Video out Yes Yes

Optical Drive No No

USB Yes No

SD card reader Yes No

Print Yes ? (most likely requires paid app)

Adobe Flash Yes No

Internal Storage 160GB+ 64GB max

When you compare the features, it's easy to see that the iPad doesn't really measure up to most of the netbooks on the market even in the $200 range. While I think the iPad is cool, here are some things that I believe should have been changed.

1. Webcam - with the addition of a webcam, the iPad could have been an excellent business device. They built in a microphone assumably for voip - why not throw in a camera? The only logical guess would be that they will include a webcam on future models.
2. Swype for text input - If you don't know what Swype is, check out http://www.swypeinc.com/ to get the full low down. Basically, it's the next innovation in text input. Swype is "finger tracing text entry". If you want to see Swype in action you can check out the video below. Not only would Swype have taken up much less of the iPad screen but I believe it is a whole lot less awkward than the iPad's QWERTY keyboard. Granted, this is based soley on conjecture, but I have a hard enough time typing on a netbook keyboard with tactile feedback. I can almost guarantee my iPad writing would look about the same as a monkey's.
   


3. Gesture area - Apple should have used the ridiculously thick bezel on the iPad and taken a cue from Palm to make a gesture area on the iPad. I find the gesture area so much more intuitive on my Pre that when I use an iPod touch it takes me a second to adjust.
4. Flash card slot - If you are going to use the iPad as a photo frame, why not make it a whole lot easier and throw in a flash card slot? Additionally they probably could have made it a lot more inexpensive had they not included all that flash memory and left that part up to the consumer.
5. Computer to sync - The last point sort of leads into this: While iTunes is great and the iTunes store on the iPad is cool, you are still going to need a computer to sync the iPad with. You can't just get a bunch of songs, movies, photos on a memory card and pop it in. Ok, I know in theory you could just go and download each song and movie from the iTunes store, but that would be a pain in the ass and again, what about your photos?
6. No USB - I know the dock connector functions as a communications device, but it would be nice, if you are selling a quasi-computer, netbook competitor, that you would allow the attachment of at least some USB peripherals.

My biggest problem is that Apple could have turned this into something that every major company in America would have bought for their employees. The system admin could load apps onto the iPad that were approved and it would essentially be locked down unless an employee hacked it (which could happen to any computer). A webcam goes without saying in today's business world. The fact (at least to my current understanding) that you will have to buy a special docking station keyboard, further jacks up the price. They could have allowed USB keyboards, mice ethernet adapters, etc to allow you to plug one cable into a hub at work and go.

So again, who needs one of these? iPad doesn't exactly compete with a regular netbook unless you buy the $69 keyboard. It's rather expensive as a video player compared to a portable dvd player ($70) or an ebook reader (Kindle $200). There are lots of cool games for the iPod, and now the iPad, but do they really compete with PSPs or Gameboys? It's hard to play a lot of games without a physical controller. If someone comes out with a game controller, I could see the iPad taking precedence over the current hand held games on the market.

The iPad rolls several devices into one but I doubt a majority of consumers will want to pay that much, especially when it's kind of an inconvenient size. My prediction is that the iPad will take off enough to warrant future models but not in the way it could have, had Apple not had their head so far up their own ass.